Big tech companies learning to look
past the initial sale as subscriptions build an important base of recurring revenue.

Selling technology used to be all about getting customers into the stores. Now, it’s more about keeping them hooked.

Software was the first tech sector that shifted from selling its product outright to offering it as a service. But the number of businesses that have turned buyers into subscribers, generating a recurring base of revenue, is growing across all of the tech sector. Even Apple Inc., which sold nearly $200 billion worth of devices in its most recent fiscal year, has been touting the number of paid subscriptions...